Washington respect tour has one more stop after beating Texas in the Sugar Bowl

NEW ORLEANS — Maybe it was because of Arizona State (15-7). Or Stanford (42-33). Or Southern California (52-42), Oregon State (22-20) or Washington State (24-21).

Maybe it was because Washington was the champion of a disintegrating league, the Pac-12, which is set to exist in any form for just one more game before becoming a college football footnote.

Not even those two wins against Oregon were enough to change the narrative. Overshadowed by three of the biggest brands in college sports, no Power Five team had ever reached the College Football Playoff unbeaten and been more of an afterthought in the championship breakdown than the Huskies.

For weeks − months, actually − the Huskies have been on a quest for the same respect given to fellow playoff members Michigan, Alabama and Texas, not to mention playoff near-misses Georgia and Ohio State, even the Ducks.

After weathering a frantic fourth quarter to beat the Longhorns 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl, to say the Huskies are worthy of a little coast-to-coast respect would be an understatement.

"That’s just more fuel to the fire," sophomore offensive lineman Julius Buelow said. "Everybody thinks out on the West Coast it’s just basketball on grass. I hear this and that, we’re soft or whatever. But I mean, hats off to Texas. That’s the best defensive line I’ve played against my entire career. It was definitely a battle."

The respect seems warranted. If for no other reason than quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the Huskies may have what it takes to beat Michigan and capture the first unshared national championship in program history.

Penix carried his superb regular season into January with a near-perfect game − and the Huskies needed every ounce of his brilliance to fend off the Longhorns' late run and create the fourth unbeaten-only championship game in playoff history.

"I thought he just was just so good with his feet in the pocket and resetting and making throws, things that we know he's capable of doing," said Washington coach Kalen DeBoer. "And with a good defense like we were facing in Texas today, he had to kind of resort to all the tools that he has and all the skill sets that make him special and make him, in my mind, the best player in college football."

His first pass at the Sugar Bowl was a 77-yard completion to Ja'Lynn Polk so beautiful it should’ve come wrapped in a sash and tiara. He threw enough dimes to open a bank account. His accuracy would’ve made an atomic clock sit up and say: Wow, that dude is on point.

Beginning with that first attempt, Penix unleashed a series of laser-guided strikes over, under and around the fingertips of Texas defenders and into the arms of the nation’s top receiver corps, delivering a game that ranks next to Joe Burrow in 2019 and Trevor Lawrence against Alabama in the 2018 national championship game as the best by a quarterback in College Football Playoff history.

"I’ve been saying he’s different, bro," junior running back Dillon Johnson said. "Once-in-a-generation type of arm, man. A leader. Just a guy you can rally around. I appreciate Mike, man. We wouldn’t be here without him."

This performance marks a new high point for a quarterback whose successes have been joined by incredibly painful setbacks: Penix suffered season-ending injuries in each of his four years at Indiana before transferring to Washington and completing two injury-free seasons.

"He’s been through so much different adversity," said All-America wide receiver Rome Odunze, who finished with six catches for 125 yards. "I always say, he was at the bottom, he was at the top, he was at the bottom again and here he is at the top, shining in the biggest moments."

Penix finished with 29 completions for 38 attempts for 430 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He spread the ball around, with four players making at least five catches and five accounting for at least 48 receiving yards.

"We attack," said Odunze. "Regardless of the moment, we’re in attack mode. We continue to do that. We do not change our identity because of the situation or because of different things going on. We continue to be ourselves."

The Huskies even unveiled a new wrinkle with three designed runs for Penix, who accounted for 29 carries for 18 yards during the regular season, counting sacks. He had 31 yards on those three carries as Washington and DeBoer looked for ways to offset the Longhorns’ size and strength along the defensive line.

Again and again, though, the Huskies would turn back to Penix and his arm to deliver one of the biggest wins in program history.

He put together seven scoring drives in 12 total possessions, with one a single snap to take a knee before the end of the first half. Five of the scoring drives lasted at least four minutes, including a pair resulting in field goals in the third and fourth quarters that combined to last more than 10 minutes.

"That’s just Mike," Buelow said. "Doesn’t surprise me, you know what I mean? He puts in the work every day. He’s the same guy every day. There’s a reason he’s the leader of this team and there’s a reason we’re in this spot we’re in. So it doesn’t surprise me one bit."

Thanks in large part to his accuracy, Penix and the offense possessed the ball for 36:20, well above Washington's season average. Texas was supposed to be able to control the line of scrimmage and take the Huskies out of their comfort zone; the opposite was true instead.

To flip the script against a seemingly more physical opponent speaks to the flexibility of this offense, the adaptability of DeBoer's scheme and the Huskies' chances of doing the same against Michigan, which shares with the Longhorns a desire to control all activity along the line of scrimmage.

The Wolverines were able to turn the Alabama offense one-dimensional by focusing on quarterback Jalen Milroe, who ran for 63 yards on 21 carries but had just 116 passing yards on 23 attempts. Michigan may try to do the same in the championship game and force the Huskies into a similarly sloppy, run-focused heavyweight bout.

Having pushed back against Texas, the Huskies seemed more prepared than ever to succeed against an opponent like the Wolverines.

"I think they’re going to watch the film and they’re going to have do their homework a little bit more," Buelow said. "They can’t just count us out, not being physical and things like that."

And the Wolverines haven't faced a quarterback anywhere close to Penix. The closest analog might be Maryland's Taulia Tagovailoa, who threw for 247 yards and completed 67.7% of his attempts on Nov. 18 but was undone by two interceptions in Michigan's 31-24 win.

Penix is in a different class. On the biggest stage of his career, he showed why he might be the best quarterback in college football − and why Washington is poised to ride his arm to a national title.

"Man, the job's not finished," Penix said. "I feel like it's definitely going to take more. I'm going to push myself to get this team more next week. And, man, we're just super excited for the opportunity for sure."